The effects of low protein during gestation on mouse pancreatic development and beta cell regeneration

Beta cells are partially replaced in neonatal rodents after deletion with streptozotocin (STZ). Exposure of pregnant rats to a low protein (LP) diet impairs endocrine pancreas development in the offspring, leading to glucose intolerance in adulthood. Our objective was to determine whether protein restriction has a similar effect on the offspring in mice, and if this alters the capacity for beta cell regeneration after STZ. Pregnant Balb/c mice were fed a control (C) (20% protein) or an isocaloric LP (8% protein) diet during gestation. Pups were given 35 mg/kg STZ (or vehicle) from d 1 to 5 for each dietary treatment. Histologic analysis showed that C-fed offspring had largely replaced beta cell mass (BCM) after STZ by d 30, but this was not sustained over time. Female LP-fed offspring showed an initial increase in BCM by d 14 but developed glucose intolerance by d 130. In contrast, male LP offspring showed no changes in BCM or glucose tolerance. However, LP exposure limited the capacity for recovery of BCM in both genders after STZ treatment. Copyright © 2010 International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc

Books in Arabic Script

The chapter approaches the book in Arabic script as the indispensable means for the transmission of knowledge across Eurasia and Africa, within cultures and across cultural boundaries, since the seventh century ad. The state of research can be divided into manuscript and print studies, but there is not yet a history of the book in Arabic script that captures its plurilinear development for over fourteen hundred years. The chapter explores the conceptual and practical challenges that impede the integration of the book in Arabic script into book history at large and includes an extensive reference list that reflects its diversity. The final published version was slightly updated, and includes seven illustrations of six Qurans from the holdings of Columbia University Libraries, four manuscripts and two printed versions. Moreover, the illustrations are images of historical artifacts which are in the public domain - despite Wiley's copyright claim

No association between polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene and susceptibility to cocaine dependence among African-American individuals

Genetic research of cocaine abuse has been relatively limited among the African-American population. Since the serotonin transporter (5HTT) may be involved in modulating effects of cocaine, we investigated whether allelic variants of the 5HTT gene may confer susceptibility to cocaine dependence among African-American individuals. One hundred and fifty-six cocaine-dependent subjects and 82 controls were studied. Polymerase chain reaction-based genotyping of a variable-number-tandem-repeat (VNTR) marker yielded three alleles designated 12, 10 and 9. Genotype and allele frequencies were compared using chi-square analyses. We found no differences between subjects and controls with respect to genotype distribution (cocaine: 12/12 = 50%, 10/12 = 35.3%, 10/10 = 13.5%, 9/12 = 1.3%; controls: 12/12 = 42.7%, 10/12 = 39.0%, 10/10 = 17.1%, 9/12 = 1.2%). Similarly, allele frequencies of the VNTR marker did not differ between the two groups (cocaine: 12 = 68.3%, 10 = 31.1%, 9 = 0.6%; controls: 12 = 62.8%, 10 = 36.6%, 9 = 0.6%). Our findings do not seem to support a relationship between VNTR polymorphisms and cocaine dependence among African-American patients. Further studies involving larger samples are required to confirm our results